Welcome to the Health and Safety Blog

I would like to welcome you to a new dimension for the Health and Safety office of the Greater Victoria Teachers' Association. Here you will find messages, advice, links and other gadgets related to health and safety, as well as our teaching profession.

Friday, February 5, 2016

Are you ready for The Big One?

A few weeks
ago, our area felt the effects of an earthquake whose epicenter was just off
the inland coast of Southern Vancouver Island. Every year our staffs and
students practice the ‘duck and cover’ procedure followed by an evacuation of
the building. Yet when this one struck outside of school hours, I remained on
my couch wondering what had happened. I did not duck and cover, even though I
have practiced this procedure every year for over 21 years!

Perhaps it
is the infrequent nature of earthquakes that we physically experience that
causes us to hesitate. We wonder if it is an explosion, or a large truck
passing by before hitting Google to see what happened. The telltale signs of a
fire are easy to identify as are flooding, and power outages. The windstorms of
November pointed out some gaps in the School Emergency Preparedness Guide in
dealing with some of the calamities that can accost our worksites.

The School
Emergency Preparedness Guide sets out the protocols for dealing with
emergencies that may best the workplace. From Lockdowns to Earthquakes,
procedures and protocols are identified. Your school will also have handbooks describing
the procedures to follow in the event of one of these emergencies. Procedures
change as well, so it is a good document to review by Joint Occupational Health
and Safety committees. For instance, many sites still have search and rescue
teams to go through the school once students have been evacuated in an
earthquake scenario. Yet, that is no longer required for safety reasons. Only
trained First Responders should enter a building after an earthquake. How many
of you are still doing that job?

Maybe we
wont react exactly as we are supposed to in an emergency situation, but we can
be prepared. I encourage Health and Safety reps to check out the School
Emergency Preparedness Guide to ensure your school is practicing the proper
protocols. You can find the document on the Staff Portal at the District
website. It is under Human Resources/Health and Safety page.

As for the
gaps identified from the windstorms, the District Occupational Health and
Safety committee is working to include those in the Guide as soon as possible.